Bad Legs + Injuries

Well, here's the timeline...

- Last Sunday (7/20) I was umpiring a double-header; in the 3rd inning of the first game I was getting ready for a play at 3rd when the runner stopped and started running back to 2nd. Since I was already in position for the play at 3rd, I had to run full-stride to catch up for a possible play at 2nd (or to see a tag) and pulled a muscle in my left quad area; in the end I was sore for a couple days, but the main problem was that I couldn't move much at all for the remaining 1.5 games, and spent most of my time behind the pitcher and hobbling around as best as I could.

- Tuesday (7/29) I was biking to work in some construction, and needed to get from gravel to pavement about a foot up on steep slopes. So, when I pushed down on my right pedal, my knee gave out. I found out later that I apparently dislocated my patella.

So, right now I'm in a knee brace and hobbling around. The brace is pushing pretty hard into my leg muscles, but I think it'll work out there. The only complaints I have right now is that I can't bike for about a week (I'll be biking one-legged mostly, but right now I can't even bring my leg high enough to go through the motion of pedaling without a good amount of pain) and that it just takes forever to get anywhere. (my 5-minute walk between buildings took 15 today)

Now I'll be out of action pretty much this entire weekend...

iPod Phone, 7/4 FNM, and random stuff...

Just another "random notes" day for posting...

[ iPhone - phone = what I have; what I have + phone = ?)

I bought a little thing which is basically a microphone you can plug into the dock connector of an iPod. The one thing left from that I've done, and I now have a SIP/VoIP phone on my iPod Touch. I've been showing it off simply by dialing my cell from my iPod, and it's getting some pretty amazed looks, especially from the tech people who understand just what this is.

In short, I have a phone for Japan.


[ 7/4 FNM ]

3rd FNM I've actually played in this summer, and I still hate this draft format, almost more so because I won the pod today. My first 4 picks: Armored Ascension, Grim Poppet, Shield of the Godhead, Shield of the Godhead. I proceed to find 2 more Ascensions and build just an OK creature base. The one game I lose is to a turn-5 win on the opponent, where I still ended the game with a 12/12 flying Scuttlemutt and drop the opponent to 2.

I still hate the format because I didn't win for having skill or anything; pack 1, pick 1 I took a Ascension over Godhead of Awe and Ballynock Cohort in a bad pack, pretty much signaling white to the left, there is NO pack-2 white (or much at all), and I can still scrounge a G-base deck, run lands 11 Plains, 6 Forest, and still just plain own the matches with powerful, difficult-to-defeat enchantments.

Seems like Mirrodin and Warhammer, except there's like 8 different forms of it and there is much less defence against it.


[ Japan update ]

Got mail from Kansai, pretty much giving me everything I need left to get to Japan; sending that out next week.

Still need to get some travel arrangements finished, though I've got till the 10th on that, and it's just an email.